It's H{ippity} Hop Monday!

It's my first H{ippity} Hop! I hope I can do it justice! Be sure to check in at the {ippity} blog to see a list of all Hop participants!

I used Now and Always for the butterflies and Flower, and The Simple Things for the sentiment. DSP is Websters Pages, and Card Stock is SU Kiwi Kiss, Rich Razzleberry, and Naturals Ivory. A bit of sewing, a bit of piecing, a bit of embossing (the sentiment), a bit of distressing; add a "build a brad" (which was stamped on Kiwi Kiss with the "itty bitty bits" stamp set) and tear some paper, and voila!

(I really need to create a light box for pictures.. LOL!)

I also entered it in the StampTV color challenge (just ended - under the wire or too late.. should have done it last night! OOPS!) "stvcolorcs3"

Thanks for looking!

House Pretties..

First of all, Happy Father's Day to my Spouse who is across the Pond.. and of course I guess that means to my Dad who is as well.

Now, onto the topic. Honey, don't shoot me, okay?

Here is a little bling I added to our patio door.  It looks really nice, if I do say so myself!!

And, it is 100% removable.. so there. :-P

Thanks for looking!

TMITA Monochromatic Challenge

Today's TMITA challenge is Monochromatic.  I love the image I purchased, along with the card design I chose.  I simply wish I didn't have this reason for making and sending this card.  A very dear family friend passed away this week. He was a Grandfatherly figure to me when I was growing up, and I'm thankful that he lived a long and rich life. I wish I could be there for his family; his wife used to give my BFF and I little candies after church, and to this day she is still probably the most dear memory I have growing up. This card is for her.

On to the challenge.. Here is my card, front and inside. Thanks to Linda Palmer at SCS WRAK for the design inspiration. She sent me this birthday RAK and it was gorgeous.

I actually colored this Lily Image with SU Watercolor Wonder crayons and a blender pen. I love Stargazer lilies, even had them at my wedding, so that is what I immediately thought of looking at this image. Come to think of it, these were my wedding colors too. LOL!

I used Pretty in Pink, Bravo Burgandy (a FIRST for me, even though burgandy/wine is one of my fave colors! this one is generally too brown for me, but maybe it's just my Stamp'n'Write Marker!), and Regal Rose paper; Pretty in Pink ribbon, and the SU Square Lattice embossing folder.  Sorry to those SU folks who are still waiting for this EF on backorder... I do feel your pain since I've been waiting for other items since May 5th!

And the inside:  I colored a 2nd (smaller) image to put in the corner.

Thanks for looking!

Father's Day

Fathers Day Cards for Dad and FIL..

 Now, to send them. Sorry, they won't be there in time. I'm horrible about getting them to the Post Office!  It would be much easier in the States, where I'd have mail service at my house ;-)

Thanks for looking!

Sketch Challenge WINNER!

I have been incredibly lucky! WOW!

My card, Featured in my last post, was the chosen winner (random I'm sure!) for the Sketch Challenge! I win a Stamp Set from GinaK! Wahooooo!

Thanks so much!!

Two more challenges - ONE is FEATURED!

Took on a couple more challenges, this time from GinaK's site.

First up: Color challenge.  Use Pink, Orange, and Green.

I used Green Apple CS, along with Regal Rose and Pumpkin Pie.  DSP is Basic Grey Green at Heart. Stamp here is from Gina K's Take Flight.

Inside, the sentiment is from Gina K/Asela Hopkins' Botanical Dreams.

Next up is the Sketch challenge, which is RIGHT NOW FEATURED on StampTV's Website! Wahoo!  Instead of a flower or butterfly as the focal point, I used the Lovely Labels stamp from Gina K/Nina Brackett. The sentiment in the corner is from Alicia K's Wishes and Dreams. CS is Green Apple, DSP is SU Urban Oasis. Ink used was Night of Navy. Ribbon is the Kiwi Kiss reversible ribbon (love it!)

Thanks for looking!

Boy Birthday

Needed a birthday card for B's friend.. and needed it FAST!  This did the trick. All Stampin Up too!

Card Stock is Pacific Point, Baja Breeze, and Whisper White; Images are Extreme Elements and Extreme Dirtbike, plus the sentiment is from one of the demo incentive sets. Silver brads and some edge distressing.. voila! This is probably my go-to color combo as of late. And I'm not a huge blue person!

Thanks for looking!

Oooh! Winner Winner!

I won the Ippity weekly challenge with this card!

And what a COOL reward.. An entire Ippity Stamp set called Life's Little Moments.

Thanks!!!

Sneak Peek SU!

Here are thank you cards I made with some of the new Sneak Peek Stampin Up products.  The cards are for my kids' teachers.  (Un?)fortunately, they get out of school tomorrow!

I used Baja Breeze CS embossed with the new EF called Vintage Wallpaper. Naturals White for the Top Note.  The Medallion stamp (not new) was stamped using the Rock n Roll method in Baja Breeze and Pacific Point.  The Center Pop image is from the new "Artistic Etchings" stamp set. I also used Rock n Roll with that, in Crumb Cake (formerly Kraft) and Early Espresso.  I sponged the edges of the Top note with Early Espresso, and the center piece is sponged with Crumb Cake, Baja Breeze, and Early Espresso (in that order).  Popped up the circle with dimensionals, added Kraft ribbon (which retires at the end of the month - sob!).  

For 2 of these I punched the Artistic Etchings medallion using the 1 3/4" circle punch.  For the 3rd I tried the current large scallop punch. I like both looks, not sure which to prefer!

The rhinestone brad in the center was 'tinted' using my copic marker to match the blues. The Sentiment is from "Watercolor Trio" stamp set, and it's stamped over top of one of the Artistic Etchings images. Also in the Crumb Cake/Early Espresso combo. The Hodgepodge Hardware piece is, sadly, retired, but I thought it went perfectly with this card.

The final step was spraying with a shimmer spritz.  I had intended to use my Vanilla Smooch, but somehow the nozzle was clogged (and I couldn't get it unclogged!) so I settled for another soft color, which was not an SU product - Shimmerz Spritz in Treasured Hymn.

Don't you hate it when the cards are almost TOO NICE to give away? I think these turned out beautifully, and they didn't take very much time at all.

Thanks for looking,
Erica

Today's Creations

Technique class with Jessica... at Elizabeth's house!

First up.. stamping on tumbled tile. I used the Bella Toile Background stamp and Saddle Brown Staz-On. Highlighted a bit in color. Then sealed with spray sealer.

Next.. Emboss Resist with stamping underneath..  better known as Emerging Colors at SCS. En Francais in Pale Plum and Inspired by Nature grass in Certainly Celery underneath.. then the Cone Flower Clear embossed over top.  Then, brayered Perfect plum over all of that, and wiped off the Perfect Plum that was on top of the embossed area. Voila! Added Old Olive ribbon and the sentiment.

Then... Cracked Glass.  I used a Websters Pages sheet (it's a Designer Paper - already printed) and stamped the bird from the Level 2 Hostess set Wings of Friendship.  (I intentionally didn't ink the "flower" part of that stamp image, because i didn't want to cover up the compass).  Used Old Olive on that bird.  Then, Versamarked the whole paper, and put Glassy Glaze Enamel over top, and heat embossed.  Repeated this step 3 more times.  Put the Paper in the freezer to make it brittle.  Once cool, gently flattened it out (it will have curled in the freezer - that's normal) and that created the crackles.  Rubbed Elegant Eggplant on top, and rubbed it into the cracks. Wiped off excess, and finished the card.  I'm completely in love with these Websters Pages.. they're perfectly proportioned for cardmaking!

 Another view of it, different lighting.  Hard to photograph!

It's hard to see, but the highlighted portion has the word "nurture" and the definition.

Finally,  a card that will be posted for a WishRAK challenge as soon as my Exchange recipient gets her package ;) Hoping she doesn't see this blog post!  I'm just super excited about this card.. love it actually.

I used So Saffron for the base. The "grass" at the bottom is made with the My Favorite Things Die-Namics (these things rock!) and Basic Grey "Green at Heart" paper, plus one layer of Cork!  The Top Note Diecut is SU Naturals (not sure if White or ivory) and I used the Watercolor Trio stamp set on it.  I colored on the stamps themselves with my Watercolor wonder crayons, then spritzed with water, and stamped onto the Top Note.  Repeated several times for each image (including the green background leaf print).   The Die Cut Leaves were given to me via WRAK when I first joined.  I even sewed on this card.. a first for me (well, with cards anyway!)  I added some Crystal Effects for the butterflies and the flower centers as well.

Here are side views - I used some of the Green at Heart paper inside too for some accent.

Hope you enjoyed today's foray into my world of crafting!